Step 3: Now for the launcher

Step 4: Launch!

Put on your safety goggles, and find a safe place to shoot. Place one of your rockets on the needle. Put a match in the clip so it is about 1/4" awa...

Make little rockets out of paper matches that fly up to 30 feet! These are made out of just some houshold materials. *Disclamer*
I am not responsible for any injuries caused by this project. Please wear eye protection when launching. Never shoot these at someone as they involve fire. Fire can burn you. Don't pick these up right after they land. Only use on pavement, or my personal favorite, into a lake, not on grass.

Step 1: Materials

Here are the materials you need:
-Paper matches
-Foil
-A needle
-About 10" of 1/2" PVC pipe (you could just use part of a broomstick or somethin' but I had some of this pipe laying around)
-A chip clip or some kind of clip-not a clothes pin (again, whatever is conveniant for you)
-Tape
-Dental floss or tic tac case (optional)

Some tools are also needed:
-Scissors
-Lighter

Step 2: Make the rockets

First, cut a roughly 3/4" inch square of foil. Then, cut the head off of one of the matches (I know it's cruel), leaving enough of the paper so the powder doesn't crumble. Roll the foil so there is a "pocket" for the match head to fit in. Set the head in the pocket and roll it once or twice-but don't crimp it tightly. Stick the needle into one of the ends of the rocket, and make sure it touches the head (see photo). Roll the whole thing tightly around the needle and at the top, and it should look something like the 5th photo.
8) good job 8)

Step 3: Now for the launcher

First, cut the PVC pipe to about a foot long. Wrap half of it in duct tape and the other half in foil. Make a ball of foil and stick the needle through it. Jam the ball into the pipe with the needle facing out and use the edge of a table to push it in tight. Tape the clip to the side of the pipe right near the top next to the needle (photo 6). You are now ready to launch.

You could if you wanted. You just need nitric acid, silver metal, and anhydrous ethanol. Dissolve the silver in an excess of nitric acid, and wait for the fumes to die down. Then pour the ethanol in and wait up to four hours. Come back, and there should be some crystals of silver fulminate. Filter the solution and gently pour about a quart of distilled water over the crystals, to wash out the acid. Now you carefully mix some sand with these crystals and wrap them in some tissue paper. Then you're done.

You can also use this method with mercury metal to make mercury fulminate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mercury_fulminate Mercury fulminate was one of the first primary explosives known. It was used to detonate dynamite way back when.

You have to make sure the needle is touching the match head when you twist it or else it closes the exhaust port. If that doesn't work try making the exhaust port bigger, such as a thick sewing machine needle, and use a small pin to launch it off of. Sometimes it gets stuck on the launcher if you use the same needle in it.